Harrisburg police to beef up patrol in wake of crimes

Police will increase foot patrols in certain areas

UPDATED 10:50 PM EDT Apr 29, 2013

After three shootings over the weekend, including the city’s seventh homicide and a number of armed robberies and assaults, Mayor Linda Thompson says police will be taking steps immediately to stop the relentless crime wave.

Police will be increasing foot patrol teams in areas and neighborhoods where crime has gotten worse over the weeks, including Midtown and Allison Hill.

Those foot patrol teams will include five to 10 officers walking the beat arresting disorderly persons, enforcing litter laws and serving as a deterrent to criminal behavior.

“We will not allow a single neighborhood to be held hostage or collapse into a haven of drug and illegal gun trafficking and shootings. We will not tolerate violent crime in this city,” said Mayor Thompson.

Thompson said there is no excuse for the shootings and armed robberies, which she says are induced by drugs and alcohol. Police officers will also be looking to confiscate illegal guns, which are being found in many investigations.

Thompson says the city will also be imposing a curfew well in advance of schools letting out for the summer in an effort to stop a wave of criminal activity that often starts when schools let out.

Thompson says the city is doing its best to produce and create jobs, but not having one is no excuse to rob and attack others.

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